


The Gospel of the Winchesters

by allthebeautifulthings9828



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angel Castiel, Future Castiel, Future Fic, Gen, POV Castiel, The Winchester Gospels, Vatican, Winchesters Made Saints
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-07-15
Updated: 2013-07-15
Packaged: 2017-12-20 07:34:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/884648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/allthebeautifulthings9828/pseuds/allthebeautifulthings9828
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>On September 18, 2267, the Winchester brothers are canonized by the Catholic Church. The angel Castiel decides to watch the ceremony undetected in the cathedral and view the exhibition of Winchester relics in the Vatican. Much to his disappointment, a great deal of Sam's life has been misinterpreted in scripture. Castiel takes it upon himself, as a tribute to his friend, to correct some of the wrongs and, in the process, attribute yet another miracle to Saint Dean and Saint Samuel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Gospel of the Winchesters

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was inspired by a gif on Tumblr taken from the show, which seems to depict Castiel pulling Dean out of Hell. I started thinking about the way we view Biblical figures today and how people in the Supernatural universe might view the Winchesters hundreds of years from now. It was also my response to the people who say Castiel doesn't care about Sam or even like him.

It had been a long time since Castiel, Angel of The Lord, walked the earth. Actually, 207 years, to be exact.

The last time he really cared to visit humanity had been the day Dean Winchester died. He had outlived Sam by six years but those six years were rough for the old man. He did his best to look after Sam's widow and grandkids just the way the younger brother would have expected of him, but forty years of being a hunter took its toll on his body. Arthritis set in around forty-five and diabetes followed in his fifties. Of course, Castiel watched over him until the end. And when the end came, he was there to personally escort Dean to the piece of Heaven set aside for him and the rest of his family. Exceptions were made for all of them to be together. They had, after all, each contributed to saving the world when no one else could.

Now that the Winchesters and their family were all gone, Castiel simply couldn't make himself visit humanity like he did so often before. Passing a fast food place made him want to split a burger with Dean before a hunt. Seeing a library reminded him of reading over Sam's shoulder when he didn't know it. The only people who ever really loved the angel were in Heaven now, so why bother leaving? He could pop in on their piece of the afterlife whenever he chose.

Finally, they all enjoyed some peace.

But somewhere along the way, Castiel heard rumblings from the Vatican that miracles were being attributed to the Winchester brothers. Priests poured over the gospels as told by Chuck Shurley for confirmation of the theology. Only three miracles were required to canonize a deceased person as a saint. Within fifty years of the Winchesters' deaths, two miracles were already confirmed.[[MORE]]

The first was stopping the apocalypse.

The second was stopping the Leviathans.

And then a hundred years after that, Vatican priests uncovered evidence that the Winchesters had restored all of the angels to their rightful places in Heaven somewhere around the spring of 2015. Miracle number three.

Saint Dean and Saint Samuel were canonized by the Catholic Church together on September 18, 2267. The date had been chosen rather carefully according to the gospels as the day the angel Castiel delivered Dean Winchester from the pit of Hell. Castiel observed all of the pomp and ceremony from the rafters of the Italian cathedral, unseen and undetected.

Of course, Castiel thought as he gazed at a stained glass window depicting the Winchesters fighting demons in quite epic biblical imagery, none of the people in the cathedral ever knew the brothers. They worshiped Dean like a demigod - one of the most famous saints since John Paul II was canonized. Details lost to history remained in the angel's extensive memory. The way the brothers called each other bitch and jerk. The way Bobby Singer raised them more than their biological father. The way Dean couldn't stand anything remotely gross or germy, as he used to say. The long nights sitting under the stars on the hood of the Impala talking about everything except hunting or the end of the world. People never would know those things two hundred years removed and Castiel preferred it that way.

The solemn ceremony passed in beautiful fashion but Castiel could almost hear Dean chortle about those stiff priests and nuns. Did they even know how many women he nailed in his life, he'd say? Not very saintly behavior! And why the hell were people suddenly praying to him? Yes, Castiel could predict Dean's reaction as if he stood right next to him there in the cathedral. He'd have to teach the Winchesters how to cope with the constant prayer flow.

Sam, he knew, could handle it better. He'd become quite the do-gooder in Heaven, nearly like a priest in his own right. Freedom in death from demon blood in life meant he could reach his full potential of everything he always intended to be.

Yet, as Castiel moved undetected through an exhibit in the Vatican of Winchester relics, he noticed a terrible imbalance. Saintly images of Dean on tapestries and sculpture stood everywhere, yet very little showed Sam's presence. He passed a glass case with perfect climate control containing one of Dean's leather jackets and Sam's laptop. People gasped in awe as if the objects themselves could induce miracles, yet the appeals went to Saint Dean rather than Saint Samuel. The imbalance bothered Castiel the more he observed the different portions of the Winchester exhibit.

A fourth miracle took place that day. Although Vatican priests would attribute it to the sainted brothers, Castiel alone knew the truth. For all he'd been through with Sam. For all the things Sam sacrificed. For the billions of people alive two hundred years later because of him.

A lone man in a severely outdated suit and tan overcoat wandered the exhibit, tourists noticed absently, but no one could recall seeing him in the outside queue. He appeared long enough to linger near the most magnificent painting produced by religious artists since the Renaissance. The climactic scene of Lucifer being cast into Hell for the second time stretched twenty feet tall and thirty-five feet wide, requiring four years of the artist's life. Drama filled each brush stroke painting angels observing from the clouds and grotesque demonic creatures peering up from the hole in the ground as a warrior figure with a saint's halo rammed the sword of Michael into Lucifer.

Aside from the obvious inaccuracies of the scene, Castiel could not abide by the most glaring falsehood. Misinterpreted scripture placed Dean as the one who slayed Lucifer while Sam looked on, battered and bloody from the ground. He knew Dean had always been intended as the sword of Michael, but it was Sam's sacrifice that saved billions of lives.

Castiel, the lone figure in the horribly outdated overcoat cocked his head to one side and blinked. That was all it took to correct the painting. No one would notice the change for days, of course. Why would anyone pay close enough attention to watch for entire portions of a painting to change?

But there it hung on the wall in the Vatican. Generations to come would stand in line for hours to set eyes upon the fourth miracle in the Winchester story. The painting changed the day the stranger in the overcoat walked by and placed Saint Samuel front and center, poised to throw Lucifer into Hell forever - strong, capable, and prepared to give his life so that billions might live. It was, as they might say, a final tribute to the boy who overcame his demon blood and found his worth.

"Thank you, Sam," Castiel whispered to the painting as he disappeared.


End file.
